Power capstan for anchor rope and the like

ABSTRACT

A power capstan or winch for the anchor ropes of small boats, enabling the anchor to be raised by power, and to be lowered selectively either by a rapid free fall, with no substantial restraint from the capstan mechanism, or to be lowered more slowly by operation of the power drive in a reverse direction. During raising of the anchor, the anchor rope is held tight against the power driven capstan pulley by a belt, tension on which is released when a free fall is desired. This belt, in combination with stationary guides, insures that the rope, when being hauled in, is advanced into the rope locker even if the rope is very flimsy and has little lateral stability against buckling. A slight undercut slope on the dog teeth of a clutch connecting the capstan pulley to the power source insures that the clutch cannot be accidentally disengaged to cause a free fall of the anchor when not desired.

United States Patent [1 1 Roemer, ,llr.

'l l POWER CAPSTAN FOR ANCHOR ROPE AND THE LIKE [76] inventor: Leonhard J. Roemer, Jr., 27

Forgham Rd., Rochester, NY. 146l6 [22] Filed: July 27, 1973 21 J App]. No; 383,442

Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Thomas E. Kocovsky Attorney, Agent, or FirmStonebraker & Shepard [57] ABSTRACT A power capstan or winch for the anchor ropes of small boats, enabling the anchor to be raised by power, and to be lowered selectively either by a rapid free fall, with no substantial restraint from the capstan mechanism, or to be lowered more slowly by operation of the power drive in a reverse direction. During raising of the anchor, the anchor rope is hold tight against the power driven capstan pulley by a belt, tension on which is released when a free fall is desired. This belt, in combination with stationary guides, insures that the rope, when being hauled in, is advanced into the rope locker even if the rope is very flimsy and has little lateral stability against buckling. A slight undercut slope on the dog teeth of a clutch connecting the capstan pulley to the power source insures that the clutch cannot be accidentally disengaged to cause a free fall of the anchor when not desired.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures POWER CAPSTAN FOR ANCHOR ROPE AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many situations where it may be desired'to move a rope by power means in one direction or the other, and where it may also be desired to allow the rope to run freely and unrestrained in at least one direction or possibly both directions. A typical example of this is the handling of the anchor rope of small water craft such as a motor boat. There, it is desirable to be able to raise the anchor by power means, and to be able to lower it slowly by reverse operation of the power means, but it is also highly desirable that the anchor be capable of a free and unrestrained fall when desired, playing out the anchor rope just as fast as the effect of gravity permits the anchor to fall, without restraint or hindrance from the power drive mechanism.

The present invention is particularly suitable for this use, in handling the anchor ropesof small craft. The construction will therefore be described in connection with the handling of an anchor rope, although'it should be understood that this is intended merely as a typical example of the use of the invention, and that the present construction is broadly useful wherever it is desired to have a rope capable of free running at one time, and capable of being power driven at another time.

An object of the present invention is the provision of simple, sturdy, and relatively inexpensive mechanism capable of applying power to move a rope in at least one direction, and capable of allowing the rope to run freely and unrestrained. when desired.

Another object is the provision of such mechanism particularly useful in handling the anchor rope of small water craft.

Still another object is the provision of such mechanism so designed that, when raising an anchor, the incoming rope is effectively and reliably pushed through a passageway leading to the rope locker, even when the rope is of a rather flimsy character having little resistance against lateral buckling when a longitudinal compressive force is exerted on the rope.

A further objectis the provision of such mechanism so designed as to hold an anchor rope securely against any longitudinal movement in either direction, so long as desired, yet permitting it to be freed quickly for a free fall of the anchor, whenever desired.

A still further object is the provision of such mechanism so designed as to prevent accidental freeing of the rope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational view of a construction according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, with parts of the associated motor boat in vertical section, illustrating the capstan mechanism in the engaged position, connecting the capstan pulley to the motor drive;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same, with the parts in the same direction; I

FIG. 3 is aview similar to FIG. 2, with some of the parts broken away to show the construction beneath, and with some parts in horizontal section; I

FIG. d is a fragmentary view similar to a portion of FIG. I, but with the parts in disengaged position so that.

the rope is free running, and with some parts broken away and some parts in vertical section;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken-along the axis of the vertical shaft on which the capstan pulley and the clutch members are mounted;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section illustrating certain details of a horizontal slide member which serves to apply tension or release tension on a belt which, when tensioned, serves to hold the anchor rope tight against the capstan pulley on which it runs;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the rela tionship of the parts when the belt is tensioned; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 7, illustrating the relationship of the parts when tension on the I belt is released so that the anchor rope may run freely and so that the attached anchor may fall freely.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FREE ERRED EMBODIMENT Any suitable floor or supporting surface, such as the deck of a motor boat or other vessel, is shown at 11, the same being supported by suitable beams 13. The capstan mechanism of the present invention is supported on a base plate 15 resting on the deck or floor 11. A reduction gearbox 17 (FIG. 1) is mounted below and supported-from the base plate 15, and the gearbox carries an electric driving motor 19, powered by any suitable source of electric power, such :as storage batteries. Both the motor and the reduction gearbox are of conventional construction, the motor preferably being reversible. l

The input shaft of the reduction gear is, of course, connected to the armature shaft'of the motor. The output shaft or power take-off shaft of the gearbox is vertical, extends upwardly through the deck 11 and base plate 15, and is shown at 21.

Freely rotatable on this shaft21, just above the base plate 15, as by means of ball or roller bearings (see FIG. 5) is a capstan pulley with a deep V-shaped circumferential groove (see especially FIGS. 4 and 5) for receiving the rope 25. In this specific embodiment illustrated, the rope 25 is an anchor rope of a motor boat or other watercraft, and is attached at one end to a conventional boat anchor (not shown), but as already mentioned the present invention is not limited to the handling of anchor rope, and is intended broadly for the handling of any rope where powered movement is desired at one time and free running movement of the rope is desired at another time. The lower side wall and the upper side wall of the rope-receiving groove are notched or serrated with alternating ridges and valleys, as illustrated, extending approximately radially, but preferably not quite truly radially. It is desirable to have these ridges and grooves extend a little bit obliquely to a true radial plane, to correspond approximately to the helix angle of the rope. Because of the helix effect of the way a rope is constructed, it is desirable also to have the ridges and notches on the upper face of the of the same helix turn of the rope may be engaged in a slightly offset notch on the lower face of the rope groove of the capstan pulley. This would not occur, and

the gripping of the rope would be somewhat less secure, if the notches and ridges of the upper face were exactly opposite the notches and ridges of the lower face of the rope-receiving circumferential groove of the pulley. It may be noted also that the side walls of the rope groove have only a slight angle to each other, so that the rope can be tightly wedged in its groove to prevent slipping, yet the rope groove is very deep in a radial direction so that it can readily accommodate a reasonable range of sizes (diameters) of rope, and need not be used only with a single size.

Secured to the upper face of the capstan pulley 23, as by welding, is a lower clutch disk 27 having dogs or teeth 27a cooperating with an upper clutch member 29 which is non-rotatably connected to the drive shaft 21 but which is longitudinally movable axially along the shaft. This can be done by splining the clutch member 29 to the shaft 21, but preferably is accomplished by making the upper part of the shaft 21 of noncircular cross section (such as square) fitting slidably in a correspondingly shaped arbor hole of the clutch member 29. The teeth 27a of the lower clutch member 27 engage with teeth 29a of the upper clutch member 29, when the clutch is in the engaged position illustrated in FIG. 1. The disengaged position of the clutch is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein the upper clutch 29 has been raised relative to the' position shown in FIG. 1, so that its teeth 290 are at an elevation above the tops of the teeth 27a. In this position, the capstan pulley 23 is-entirely free to rotate on'the shaft 21, but when the upper clutch member 29 is lowered to engage the clutch, the pulley 23 is clutched to the shaft 21 and cannot turn relative thereto. The side edges or flanks of the teeth 27a and 29a preferably are slightly undercut at an angle of about to a radial plane containing the axis of the shaft 21. This undercutting to the extent of 5 serves to resist separation of the clutch members from the engaged position tothe disengaged position so long as the clutch members are tightly engaged with a substantial amount of torque applied, and thus prevents accidental disengagement of the clutch and accidental free fall or drop of the anchor.

The upper end of the shaft 21-is received in a ball or roller bearing 31 (FIG. 5) held by a ridgid lateral arm or bracket 33 fixed to the top of a bifurcated post 35 (see also FIGS. 1-4) ridigly secured to the base plate 15. A clutch shifter lever 37, extending through an opening in the post 35 and pivoted to the post at 39, has one end which is forked as seen at 37a in FIG. 2, the forked parts carrying rollers-41 (FIG. 5) engaging in a circumferential groove in the upper clutch member 29. When the opposite end (left hand end when viewed as in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) of the clutch shifter lever 37 is depressed, the forked end will be raised, disengaging the clutch. When the opposite end is raised, the forked end will be depressed, bringing the upper clutch member 29 down to engage it with the lower clutch member 27. The opposite end of the shifter lever 37 may be raised or lowered manually, but preferably is operated electrically by any suitable means such as the solenoid 43 (FIG. 1) having a core member 45 connected by the pivoted link 47 to the end of the shifting lever 37.

Except when free running of the rope is desired, the anchor rope is held tightly engaged in its groove in the capstan pulley 23 by means of an endless belt 51 which extends tighly around the outer face of the rope seated in its groove, through an extent of approximately 180 (one-half the circumference of the pulley) and which runs over and is guided by two idler pulleys 52 and 53 mounted to rotate on fixed axles, and a third idler pulley 54, the axle 55 of which is mounted on a slide plate 57 which slides in a groove in the base plate 15, in a direction toward and away from the drive shaft 21. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, retainer strips or gibs 59 recessed into the top surface of the base plate 15 have edges which overlie the edges of the slide plate 57 to hold it in place.

Fixed to the top of the slide plate 57, as by welding. is a cross plate 61 having upturned ears 63 at both ends. A pair of strong tension springs 65 have their front ends secured to these ears 63, and'their rear ends secured to upstanding lugs 67 rising from adjustment plates 68 which are normally held stationary on the base plate 15 by screws 69 screwed into the base plate 15 and passing through slots 70 in the adjustment plates.

The rear end of a toggle member 71 is embraced between the lugs 67 and is pivotedto them at 72. The front end of the toggle member is pivoted at 73 to the rear end of a second toggle member 75, the front end of which is pivoted at 77 to the ears 63. A bail 79, the ends of which conveniently form the pivots 73 joining the two toggle members to each other, loops over the clutch shifting lever 37 as shown, so that when the rear end of the clutch shifting lever is raised, it pulls upwardly on the bail 79 and raises the central pivot of the toggle, releasing it so the springs 65 can pull rearwardly on the slide plate 57, to move the third idler pulley 54 rearwardly away from the shaft 21 and thus apply tension to the belt 51. When the rear end of the clutch lever 37 is moved downwardly, a projection thereon comes down on the top of the toggle member 71, and moves the toggle downwardly to a trifle beyond the straight-line or dead-center position, moving the slide plate 57 forwardly against the tension of the springs 65,

and slackening the belt 51 so that it no longer engages tightly with the capstan pulley 23 or with the rope 25. At the same time that the downward motion of the shifting lever 37 straightens the toggle and releases the tension on the belt 51, the other end of the shifting lever 37 disengages the clutch, so that the capstan pulley 23 becomes free running on the shaft 21. Even if the tension of the belt 51 were not relaxed, the disengage ment of the clutch would still make the capstan pulley free running, but it is desired at the same time to eliminate the slight additional frictional resistance which is caused by the belt 51 running over the three idler pulleys and so it is preferred, although it is not essential, to relax the belt tension when the clutch is disengaged.

Upon loosening the screws 69, the adjusting plates 68 can be moved longitudinally forwardly or rearwardly, to adjust the position of the rear pivot or fulcrum of the toggle, to control the amount of looseness or slack imparted to the belt 51 when the toggle is depressed to the straightened position, or to adjust the amount of tension exerted by the springs 65 in pulling the third idler pulley 54 rearwardly to tighten the belt, when the toggle is released.

A somewhat U-shaped belt guide block 81, held to the base plate 15 by screws 83, has an inner face closely following the contour of the portion of the belt which extends between the idler pulley 52 and the idler pulley 53, around the capstan pulley 23, but with some play or clearance space between the guide block and the adjacent surface of the belt. The outer face of the guide block SI follows closely, but again with some clearance, the inner face of the belt portions extending rearwardly from the respective forward idler pulleys S2 and 53 toward the rearward idler pulley 54.

Two Z-shaped retainer plates 91 have bottom flanges held to the base plate by screws 93, and top flanges overlying the top edge of the belt 51 just a little to the rear of the idler pulleys 52 and 53, respectively. These overlying flanges of the members 911 prevent the belt from accidentally riding up over the upper ends of the pulleys S2 and 53, which are plain cylindrical pulleys, without end flanges, although the third or rearward idler pulley 54 is a flanged pulley. The U-shaped block 81, the retainer plates 91, and the flangeless idler pulleys 52 and 53 all work together or cooperatively to prevent jamming therope. Any obstruction to longitudinal movement of the rope while pushing on the rope is continued, tends to swell the diameter of the rope, and the enlarged diameter may tend to make the belt ride up off the upper end of the flangeless pulley 52 and 53, but this is prevented by the member 91. The member 31 prevents a badly swollen or snarled portion of the rope from being carried around the capstan pulley 23, so that the machine simply stalls instead of being broken or damaged. When the direction is reversed and the snarled or swollen rope is fed out of the mechanism, all is in proper readiness for continued operation.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate diagrammatically the action of tightening and loosening the retaining belt 31. In FIG. '7, the third idler pulley 54 is illustrated in its normal rearward position, with the toggle parts '71 and 75 (not shown in this view) in their angular position, so that the springs 65 (also not shown in this view) may pull the idler pulley 54- rearwardly, tightening the belt SI so as to hold the rope 23 tightly in the groove of the capstan pulley 23. This is the position assumed when the anchor is being lifted or hauled in by operation of the electric motor T9 driving the shaft 211, clutched at this time to the capstan pulley 23. In contrast to this, FIG. 8 shows the position of the belt and idler pulleys when the toggle 'i 1, 73 has been pushed down to straighten it, thereby moving the third idler pulley 54 forwardly against the tension of the springs as. In FIG. 3, the rear position of the pulley is shown in broken lines at Ma, and in contrast, the solid lines Mb illustrate the pulley when pushed forwardly by straightening the toggle, thus slackening the pressure of the belt 31 against the rope 25 so that the capstan pulley 23 can turn and the rope 25 can move without necessarily causing movement of the belt 5i, thereby eliminating even the slight frictional resistance of running the belt 511 over its three idler pulleys. This is the position the parts assume when the rope 25 is to be allowed to run free, such as when dropping anchor rapidly, the capstan pulley being unclutched from the shaft 21 at this time and being freely rotatable on the shaft.

It is desirable, especially when the rope is quite flexible, to provide rope guides for loosely guiding the rope for a few inches of its length, where it approaches and where it leaves the capstan pulley 23. The length of rope approaching the capstan pulley from the anchor may be loosely guided in a groove or passageway formed between stationary members 1101 and 1103 (FIG. 3) covered by a flat cover member m5 (FIGS.

I, 2, and 4). The other stretch of rope, after passing halfway around the capstan pulley 23, may be similarly loosely guided in a channel formed between stationary members 107 and 109 (FIG. 3) leading to an opening or passageway I111 into the rope locker below the deck lll, this guidingpassageway being covered by a cover 113 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) which curves downwardly at its forward end to guide the advancing rope directly into the opening or passageway 1111 into the rope locker. This curved guide 113 is particularly useful in preventing any buckling of the rope as it is being advanced from the capstan pulley 23 to the rope locker opening Iii, when the rope is of the especially flexible kind of rope now coming into widespread use as anchor rope on small craft. One commonly used modern rope is what is known as soft lay nylon rope, usually in the size known as half inch. Such rope has practically no stiffness against lateral buckling when it is pushed longitudinally, and could easily buckle in the short space of a few inches between the capstan pulley 23 and the rope locker opening 111, when it is pushed forward by the action of the capstan pulley and the belt, if it were not closely guided and prevented from lateral buckling by being confined in the passageway formed between the parts 107, I09, and 113. But by being confined in this passageway, the lateral deformation or buckling of the rope is prevented even when the rope is of the very soft kind abovementioned, utterly lacking in stiffness when pushed longitudinally, and with this construction it is found in practice that suchrope will safely enter the rope locker as the anchor is being pulled up, without any special care or attention on the part of the op erator.

It is desirable to make the rope guiding parts 107,

' I09, and H3 of some low friction. material, such as teflon, or other slippery or very smooth material such as other low friction types of plastic material. Metal can be used, of course, such for example as anodized aluminum, but if metal is used, it is desirable to coat the rope-engaging surfaces, if possible, with a low friction coating, such as teflon. The same is true of the parts Nil, 103, and which guide the incoming rope between the anchor and the capstan pulley 23.

If the apparatus is used with an anchor rope of older style, such as a manila or hemp rope, having considerable stiffness, it is not always necessary to use the rope guide between the capstan pulley 23 and the rope locker opening llTI. When the rope has a reasonable degree of stiffness, it can often be pushed successfully from the pulley 23 directly into the rope locker opening 1111 without buckling between the capstan pulley and the rope locker, even when not guided in a channel of the kind described.

The use of the apparatus will be fairly obvious from what has been said above, but a few additional words regarding its use may be desirable. Assuming that the anchor is down on the bottom, the clutch would normally be in its engaged position illustrated in FIG. 1 with the belt 51 in its tight or tensioned position illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7. So long as the motor 19 is not running, the anchor rope is firmly held against longitudinal movement, as the capstan pulley 23 is positively clutched to the shaft 21 and cannot turn without turning the shaft 21, which is impossible when the motor 19 is not running. The gear ratios in the gear reduction box 17 are such that the shaft 2i is locked against turning except when the motor 19 is turned on.

opening 111 into the rope locker below the deck of the vessel. Pulling in of the anchor rope is continued until the anchor is tight against some suitable obstruction or fixed part of the boat, thereby keeping the portion of the anchor rope between the anchor and the capstan pulley under a reasonable degree of tension. This is desirable because the continuing tension on the anchor rope, tending to turn the capstan pulley 23 clockwise relative to the now stationary shaft 21, locks the undercut teeth or dogs of the clutch parts firmly together, preventing accidental opening or disengagement of the clutch. The parts remain in this position as long as desired, until thenext occasion for dropping the anchor.

When the time comes to drop the anchor, the tension on the portion of the rope 25 between the anchor and the capstan should first be released, in order to make it easier toopen or release the clutch. Of course in an emergency the clutch can be immediately opened, if necessary, by applying considerable extra force to the clutch. But in normal operation, when no emergency occurs, the tension on the rope is first released, by operating the usual jogging switch button of the motor 19 to jog the motor a small amount in a direction to turn the capstan pulley slightly in a clockwise direction. This releases the heavy tension formerly on the rope, leaving only the smaller degree of tension resulting from the weight of the anchor. Now the clutch can be easily opened or unclutched, either by pressing downwardly on the rear end of the clutch control lever 37 by pressure of the operators foot or otherwise, or preferably by operating the electric solenoid 43 to pull down on the rear end of this lever. The downward motion of the lever raises the upper clutch plate 29 to disengage it from the lower clutch plate 27, and at the same time the lever comes down on the toggle part 71 and straightens the toggle so that it pushes forward (against the force of the springs 65) on the rear idler pulley 54, to loosen thebelt'Sl. The parts are now in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the toggle having moved a little below or beyond its straight line or dead center position, so that it will stay in this position. The capstan pulley 23 is completely free to rotate on the stationary shaft 21, the belt 51 is relaxed so that it does not add frictional resistance to the free rotation of the capstan pulley, and the anchor rope is rapidly played out, permitting free and unrestrained drop of the anchor to the bottom.

When the bottom has been reached and the desired amount of slack has been played out, the operator then lifts up on the rear end of the clutch lever 37 (or operates the solenoid 43 in the reverse direction to do so) and this engages the clutch, preventing any further rotation of the capstan pulley so long as the shaft 21 is not being turned by operation of the motor 19. The upward motion of the clutch lever 37 simultaneously pulls upwardly on the central pivot 73 of the toggle, on account of the action of the bail 79, and thus allows the springs 65 to pull rearwardly on the idler pulley 54 to tension the belt 51 once more, to bring it tightly against the portion of the rope which is engaged in the groove of the capstan pulley 23. The parts remain in this position as long as the boat continues to ride at anchor, until it is desired to raise or weigh the anchor, at which time (without any further movement of the clutch control lever 37) the motor 19 is turned on to drive the capstan pulley 23 in a counterclockwise direction, to raise the anchor as previously described.

It may be mentioned that the belt 51 should preferably be of a tough material which is quite slippery. Slipperiness is'of no importance while the anchor is being raised, because at this time the belt simply holds the rope tight in the groove of the capstan pulley, and there is no longitudinal slippage between the belt and the rope. But during free fall of the anchor, while the belt is loose, the slipperiness factor permits the rope to slip longitudinally relative to the belt, without driving the belt, at least not at the same speed as the speed of the rope. Preferably the belt is woven from dacron or nylon, with a slippery coating added if desired, although the natural slipperiness of dacron or nylon is usually sufficient.

What is claimed is: I

1. Power mechanism for moving an anchor rope of a boat longitudinally by motor power when desired and for allowing free running of the rope longitudinally to permit rapid fall of an anchor attached to the rope when desired, .said mechanism comprising a power shaft, acapstan pulley rotatable on said shaft, said capstan pulley having a circumferential groove in which the rope is received throughout a substantial part of the circumference of the capstan pulley, a belt encircling part of the circumference of the capstan pulley and tending to press the rope into said groove, engageable and releasable clutch means for operatively connecting said capstan pulley to said power shaft, means for applying power to said shaft to turn said shaft and said capstan pulley with it while said clutch means is engaged and while said belt presses the rope firmly into said groove, thereby to produce powered longitudinal movement of the rope, a shiftable idler pulley over which the belt runs, spring means tending to shift said idler pulley in a direction to tighten said belt, two members pivoted to each other to form a toggle effective,

when straightened, to shift said idler pulley in an opposite direction against the force of said spring means, to loosen said belt, a clutch shifting lever overlying said toggle, and a toggle control member connected to a mid-joint of said toggle and overlying said shifting lever, the parts being so shaped and proportioned that when said shifting lever moves downwardly it disengages said clutch means and concomitantly presses downwardly on the toggle to straighten it, and when said lever moves upwardly it engages said clutch means and concomitantly pulls upwardly on the mid-joint of the toggle to displace it from a straight line position so as to allow said spring means to tighten the belt.

2. Power mechanism for moving an anchor rope of a boat longitudinally by motor power when desired and for allowing free running of the rope longitudinally to permit rapid fall of an anchor attached to the rope when desired, said mechanism comprising a power shaft, a capstan pulley rotatable on said shaft, said capstan pulley having a circumferential groove in which the rope is received throughout a substantial part ofthe circumference of the capstan pulley, a belt encircling part of the circumference of the capstan pulley and tending to press the rope into said groove, engageable and releasable clutch means for operatively connecting said capstan pulley to said power shaft, means for applying power to said shaft to turn said shaft and said capstan pulley with it while said clutch means is en gaged and while said belt presses the rope firmly into said groove, thereby to produce powered longitudinal movement of the rope, belt control means for tightening and for loosening tension on said belt, clutch control means for shifting said clutch means between engaged and disengaged positions, and means interconnecting said belt control means and clutch control means to loosen said belt upon disengagement of said clutch means and to tighten said belt upon engagement of said clutch means.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein said belt control means includes an idler pulley (54) over which said belt runs, a slide (57) movable in a general direction toward and away from the center of said capstan pulley, said idler pulley being mounted on and moving bodily with said slide, adjustment plate means (68) mounted for movement toward and away from said slide on the opposite side thereof from said capstan pulley, spring means (65) connected at one end to said slide and at the other end to said adjustment plate means, and a toggle having two members (71, 75) hinged to each other at an intermediate point (73), one end of said toggle being pivotally connected ('72) to said adjustment plate means and the other end of said toggle being pivotally connected (77) to said slide, the parts being so proportioned that adjustment of said adjustment plate means will serve simultaneously to adjust the position assumed by said idler pulley relative to said capstan pulley when the toggle is straightened and the force exerted by said spring means to draw said idler pulley away from said capstan pulley when the toggle is not straight.

4. The invention defined in claim 2, further comprising two belt-guiding idler pulleys (52, 53) rotatable on stationary axes at substantially equal distances from the center of said capstan pulley (23), a third idler-pulley (54l) at a substantially greater distance from said capstan pulley, said belt running around portions of said capstan pulley and all three of said idler pulleys in a path wherein the portion of the belt between each of the first two idler pulleys and the third idler pulley passes close to but spaced laterally from a portion of the belt running around said capstan pulley, and a filler block (31) of generally U-shapc having arms filling the major portion of the space between the portions of the belt on said capstan pulley and the portions of the belt laterally spaced therefrom, said filler block also filling a substantial part of the space between said capstan pulley and said third idler pulley, said filler block serving to minimize risk of rope becoming jammed in spaces between various oppositely moving portions of said belt.

5. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein said circumferential groove of said capstan pulley is of V- shaped cross section with opposite rope-engaging walls having alternating ridges and notches extending in a generally radial direction with respect to the center of rotation of the capstan pulley, the ridges and notches on one wall of said groove being offset in a circumferential direction with respect to the ridges and notches on the opposite wall of said groove, for better gripping of a rope having a helix-like surface. 

1. Power mechanism for moving an anchor rope of a boat longitudinally by motor power when desired and for allowing free running of the rope longitudinally to permit rapid fall of an anchor attached to the rope when desired, said mechanism comprising a power shaft, a capstan pulley rotatable on said shaft, said capstan pulley having a circumferential groove in which the rope is received throughout a substantial part of the circumference of the capstan pulley, a belt encircling part of the circumference of the capstan pulley and tending to press the rope into said groove, engageable and releasable clutch means for operatively connecting said capstan pulley to said power shaft, means for applying power to said shaft to turn said shaft and said capstan pulley with it while said clutch means is engaged and while said belt presses the rope firmly into said groove, thereby to produce powered longitudinal movement of the ropE, a shiftable idler pulley over which the belt runs, spring means tending to shift said idler pulley in a direction to tighten said belt, two members pivoted to each other to form a toggle effective, when straightened, to shift said idler pulley in an opposite direction against the force of said spring means, to loosen said belt, a clutch shifting lever overlying said toggle, and a toggle control member connected to a mid-joint of said toggle and overlying said shifting lever, the parts being so shaped and proportioned that when said shifting lever moves downwardly it disengages said clutch means and concomitantly presses downwardly on the toggle to straighten it, and when said lever moves upwardly it engages said clutch means and concomitantly pulls upwardly on the mid-joint of the toggle to displace it from a straight line position so as to allow said spring means to tighten the belt.
 2. Power mechanism for moving an anchor rope of a boat longitudinally by motor power when desired and for allowing free running of the rope longitudinally to permit rapid fall of an anchor attached to the rope when desired, said mechanism comprising a power shaft, a capstan pulley rotatable on said shaft, said capstan pulley having a circumferential groove in which the rope is received throughout a substantial part of the circumference of the capstan pulley, a belt encircling part of the circumference of the capstan pulley and tending to press the rope into said groove, engageable and releasable clutch means for operatively connecting said capstan pulley to said power shaft, means for applying power to said shaft to turn said shaft and said capstan pulley with it while said clutch means is engaged and while said belt presses the rope firmly into said groove, thereby to produce powered longitudinal movement of the rope, belt control means for tightening and for loosening tension on said belt, clutch control means for shifting said clutch means between engaged and disengaged positions, and means interconnecting said belt control means and clutch control means to loosen said belt upon disengagement of said clutch means and to tighten said belt upon engagement of said clutch means.
 3. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein said belt control means includes an idler pulley (54) over which said belt runs, a slide (57) movable in a general direction toward and away from the center of said capstan pulley, said idler pulley being mounted on and moving bodily with said slide, adjustment plate means (68) mounted for movement toward and away from said slide on the opposite side thereof from said capstan pulley, spring means (65) connected at one end to said slide and at the other end to said adjustment plate means, and a toggle having two members (71, 75) hinged to each other at an intermediate point (73), one end of said toggle being pivotally connected (72) to said adjustment plate means and the other end of said toggle being pivotally connected (77) to said slide, the parts being so proportioned that adjustment of said adjustment plate means will serve simultaneously to adjust the position assumed by said idler pulley relative to said capstan pulley when the toggle is straightened and the force exerted by said spring means to draw said idler pulley away from said capstan pulley when the toggle is not straight.
 4. The invention defined in claim 2, further comprising two belt-guiding idler pulleys (52, 53) rotatable on stationary axes at substantially equal distances from the center of said capstan pulley (23), a third idler pulley (54) at a substantially greater distance from said capstan pulley, said belt running around portions of said capstan pulley and all three of said idler pulleys in a path wherein the portion of the belt between each of the first two idler pulleys and the third idler pulley passes close to but spaced laterally from a portion of the belt running around said capstan pulley, and a filler block (81) of generally U-shape having arms filling the major portion of the spaCe between the portions of the belt on said capstan pulley and the portions of the belt laterally spaced therefrom, said filler block also filling a substantial part of the space between said capstan pulley and said third idler pulley, said filler block serving to minimize risk of rope becoming jammed in spaces between various oppositely moving portions of said belt.
 5. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein said circumferential groove of said capstan pulley is of V-shaped cross section with opposite rope-engaging walls having alternating ridges and notches extending in a generally radial direction with respect to the center of rotation of the capstan pulley, the ridges and notches on one wall of said groove being offset in a circumferential direction with respect to the ridges and notches on the opposite wall of said groove, for better gripping of a rope having a helix-like surface. 